July 4 parade deadline and upcoming art show

The Ocean Park Association (OPA) announced that its 8th Annual 4th of July Parade will take place this year on Friday, July 4. Themed “May the 4th be with You,” the parade organizers are calling on local resident, service and family groups, along with businesses, to become participants as entries in the parade and/or spectators lining the Main Street route.

“Bring all the sci-fi and fantasy fun you can muster, from galaxies near and far, as we celebrate what it means to have independence as a force of good – a trait unique to our country and city,” said Jeff Jarow, OPA Board Member and Parade Chair. “With the imaginative participation of our diverse groups, this is going to be a fun one. I hope to see your family out enjoying the festivities.”

Participant forms and information are available at www.opa-sm.org/parade and entries must be submitted no later than June 25 along with a $20 processing fee. Groups may walk, ride bikes, scooters and other forms of unique transportation, or may ride in a classic car or float (prefer low emission/hybrid/electric). Live or recorded music and animals are allowed, pending permission from OPA, producer of the parade.

The parade theme is also reflected in this year’s Grand Marshal as OPA honors former City of Santa Monica Mayor Nathaniel Trives who has worked tirelessly for the Santa Monica community – and with as many titles that he’s held over the years, “Mr. Santa Monica” truly proves that imagination and vision have no bounds.

The 1.5-mile route will take revelers from the Pico Boulevard and Main Street, south on Main, turning west on Marine Street and onto Barnard Way, concluding south of Ocean Park Boulevard. Viewers are encouraged to sit along the Main Street route and are encouraged to walk or ride their bikes to the route to help achieve a more environmentally friendly parade.

In addition to participants, parade organizers welcome volunteers to help with the event. Please help to make this year’s parade the best ever in Santa Monica. Those interested may contact parade@opa-sm.org.

SMC

The Santa Monica College Pete & Susan Barrett Art Gallery will present “amplified 2014,” an exhibition of works by gifted students in the highly selective Santa Monica College Art Mentor Program (AMP).

The show will be open to the public through June 21, with a gallery reception on Saturday, June 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The gallery is located at the SMC Performing Arts Center on Santa Monica Boulevard at 11th Street.

The exhibit is curated by Los Angeles artists Carlson Hatton and Emily Silver. Both are SMC art instructors.

The Art Mentor Program is a unique yearlong program for gifted visual art students, selected by SMC art department faculty. In many ways similar to a graduate school program, AMP provides an innovative, experimental, and interdisciplinary environment for students to explore a variety of art forms, professional practices, and critical theory. Students work in small groups with a professional artist or art historian, visit artists’ studios and art institutions, and participate in group discussions and critiques.

AMP alumni have gone on to prestigious schools throughout the nation – including the Rhode Island School of Design, California Institute of the Arts, UCLA, and Claremont Graduate School – and to successful careers.